Australians lost $148m to crypto scammers in 2022

In 2022, Australians handed over about $148.4m to criminals in cryptocurrency-related scams, says ACCC.

More than 4,000 Australians fell victim, up 162.4% from 2021. By comparison, in 2020 scammers extracted $20.5m from Australians using schemes involving Bitcoin and other payment methods.

According to the latest report, the average victim is a man aged 65 or older, living in New South Wales. The regulator says gullible users are found on social media or dating apps.

Overall, Australians lost a record $2.03bn in the past year through various scams — 66% of which were investment-related (55% in 2021).

“We have witnessed the emergence of worrying new tactics that make it incredibly difficult to detect scammers. They spoof phone numbers, email addresses and websites of real organisations. […] This means that anyone can become a victim of fraud,” Low explained.

As reported, from the start of 2022 to December 1 the market 117,629 fraudulent tokens appeared on the market, linked to rug-pull schemes, according to Solidus Labs.

In the first quarter of 2023, blockchain projects lost more than $320m due to hacks and fraud.